I Wanted To Say
by Gogoi
Summary: The whole 'I love you or is it that walking corpse' thing has gone on long enough. Kagome and Inuyasha are hunting for jewel shards when they meet up with another hanyou. However, this one has no problem speaking her mind and offers some sage advice
1. Greetings

**Authors Note: The idea for this story came from me always screaming at the utter stupidity of some of the characters in the Inuyasha story line. I always wanted to tell them all that they were doing wrong and ask how could they be so stupid. I apologize if the story isn't incredibly correct, I haven't been keeping up with the comix.**

**Chapter 1: Greetings**

Kagome stirred the boiling cooking pot that was specially made for camping. The ramen bubbled happily under her administrations and was a few minutes from perfection. She pulled her sleeping blanket tighter around her as it had been getting colder as the winter months were setting in, and now, lonely.

Miroku and Sango had finally, after a very perilous engagement, gotten married two weeks ago. Kagome had decided it was the happiest day of her life as of yet, except maybe one, especially as she was Sango's bridesmaid and got to wear the prettiest pink kimono that had been a present from her mom for her birthday. After a ceremony filled with white flowers and guests of more than one shape and size, the newlyweds had disappeared for a month-long honeymoon and break.

Shippo, meanwhile, had been injured in a battle with a particularly nasty wind demon, only a day after the wedding, in his hopes being the brave fox demon. He was recovering with the old priestess in the village. He wasn't supposed to be better for at least a week if not more, so Kagome had been looking forward to a long siesta at home. She had packed up and was almost out the door when she had felt the faintest glimmer of a shard.

Now she silently shook her head. How stupid had she been, mentioning it to Inuyasha? How many times had he brought her back from the present after only a few days? She knew how he would get, and that was even when she didn't have any idea where shards were residing. Instead of a week or more visit, complete with hot baths and friends, she had practically been dragged back out into the wilderness by a stubborn hanyou. Not that she hadn't given up without a fight, actually three days of fighting. But now she felt empty and sore after their bickering and everything was testy ground between them. Again.

She sighed and looked up at him. He was watching the ramen intently from across the fire. Though he sat still, crouching on his back legs, his ears swiveled and twitched this way and that, catching all of the sounds of the forest preparing for nightfall. The setting sun cast a honeyed glow over his features and his eyes glinted from the firelight like two amber shards. Kagome's eyes traced the familiar strong jaw line, moving down to the hard set lips, and…

Kagome coughed, embarrassed at her thoughts, and turned away. She knew she was blushing, but he wouldn't notice, he never really did. _Thick-headed and stubborn, that's all he his!_ She thought, but she shoved her thoughts back into their corner and doled out a small portion of the ramen into a wooden bowl. The rest she took off the fire and set next to Inuyasha, knowing he would finish it quickly with his usual gusto. He smiled and reached out for the pot, but stopped. Slowly standing up, nose quivering and ears pointed in the direction of the sunset, he looked around carefully.

"Stay here," was all he said before bounding off into the forest. Kagome may have stayed, but she suddenly sensed the shard she had noticed earlier. Pulling off the blanket and grabbing her bow and arrows, she ran off in the same direction. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She'd been so unfocused she hadn't noticed the tell-tale pull on her mind of the shards. Now Inuyasha was going to yell at her, and she'd be in the way, and goodness knows what else.

But the pull felt so weak. To her, it was like the shard was a good distance away, too far for Inuyasha to smell or hear its bearer. Kagome ran into a grassy clearing and stopped. She looked at a woman who was crouching down at a spring across the glade, drinking quietly from her cupped hands. She didn't take any notice of Kagome, but she looked familiar for some reason, like a girl Kagome had met in kindergarten or something similar.

She seemed young, maybe just poking into her twenties. Long, sun-bleached blonde hair fell down the stranger's back and tan skin peeked out from a pair of black leggings beneath a short purple skirt and a white, loose-sleeved peasant top. Silver bangles knocked around on her wrists and unevenly cut but polished obsidian rocks wrapped several times around her neck on a leather string. What really threw Kagome though was her calming way of not looking up while saying,

"You can tell the dog to come down, unless he's a stranger to you too?" The woman looked up with startling blue round eyes. There wasn't any fear or anger in them, maybe surprise as she looked Kagome up and down, and just a kind of amused light that also shone from her smile. Kagome realized she couldn't be from anywhere in Asia, not with looks like that, or with the strange accent that jumped her flow of Japanese.

"Feh, I'll come down when I wish." Kagome looked up quickly at a branch high above her. Inuyasha leapt down in a graceful billow of red haori, he frowned at Kagome before turning back to the woman. The woman smiled and stood up. Her firm muscles were evident, but she also had a general, well, heartiness about her. She had the kind of body that comes from mixing hard work with fresh air and sun. Kagome was reminded of Sango and her subdued strength. No one believed it when Sango managed to throw the huge boomerang repeatedly, the very one that Kagome had trouble just lifting.

"I will not be given commands by anyone, especially a wolf demon!" Inuyasha sneered. The woman laughed.

"Well if it gives you any comfort, I'm only half wolf demon, and he raped my mother so at any rate you can not hold it against me." She shrugged, "Besides I was asking your lady friend here to tell you to come down, I don't-"

"Lady friend?" Kagome asked.

"It sounds a hell of a lot better than 'your woman' doesn't it? Even if it an old-fashioned term." Kagome smiled. There was something instantly likable about this strange lady, even if she held a sense of mysterious around her like a cloud.

"My name is Kagome, and this is Inuyasha." Inuyasha sniffed angrily, still watching the other hanyou suspiciously.

"So very pleased to meet you, my name is Faye." Faye said, bowing slightly in respect, her hands pressed together. As she bent forward, two gray wolf ears poked out of her hair, very similar to Inuyasha's furry triangles. Kagome was going to ask about them, but she felt the tug of the shard again. It still seemed too faint for a shard, but it was coming from Faye all the same. Surprised, Kagome peered at the uneven rocks around her neck, spotting the glow coming from the singular purple one in the center of the strands.

"You have a shard!" Kagome gasped.

"Excellent," Inuyasha said with a smile as he eagerly drew his sword with a rasping metal sound. Kagome turned back to see Faye had already drawn a long sword of her own and was holding it with a knowing hand. Inuyasha rushed at her, striking his immense sword brutally, but Faye parried each blow rapidly, her sword whirring as it sliced the air. "Stop Inuyasha! We can't just take it!" Kagome called.

"What makes you think you can!" Faye sneered.

"Inuyasha! Stop!" Kagome clenched her fists, "SIT!" Inuyasha face planted painfully into the ground, moaning at the force of her command over him. Faye sheathed her blade.

"Wow, I wish I had control over men like that." Faye deliberately walked over Inuyasha to stand in front of Kagome. "I have much to learn from you Sensei." She said jokingly. Kagome laughed despite herself, and after getting Inuyasha up, invited her to share some dinner. Faye accepted happily and pulled a worn and patched leather backpack out from behind some rocks.

"Lead the way!" She said. Kagome couldn't help staring at the backpack that had a clear logo and was so obviously made by modern machines.

Faye happily accepted the ramen and was unperturbed by the can of iced tea Kagome handed her. This surprised Kagome as most people she and Inuyasha had come across usually said something like "what strange device is this?" or even more popular, "Witch! Keep your devilish potions to yourself you mistress of the devil!" But Faye cracked it open and drunk appreciatively as normal as any present-day mortal. Kagome realized she was staring and looked away.

"Won't you come down Inuyasha?" She called up into the branches where he was sulking.

"Yes, it's been a long time since I've met another hanyou, please come down and assist Kagome in telling me your story! Maybe I'll give you my jewel shard!" Faye called, smiling up into the leaves. Inuyasha peered down from his branch, ears twitching.

"Story?" said Kagome, starting as Inuyasha landed suddenly beside her.

"Yes, there is probably a very good story behind why you have modern clothes and why you managed to find yourself with a hanyou. Most of the ones I've dealt with are either off-the-wall temperamental, not to mention recluses. So tell!" Kagome looked at her closely for a moment, then down at her leather backpack. Faye followed her eyes.

"Modern? I'm from five hundred years in the future, yet you-" Kagome started. Faye waved her hand dismissively and said,

"Okay, then I'll tell you my story as well, but you first."

Kagome told her story, starting back at the first time she fell into the well. She left out a lot of the little battles, unless they included Naraku. Later she told all about Kikyo, but only after Inuyasha had gone to scout around, mumbling something about smelling more wolf demon than one. She told about Kouga and the other wolf demons and all about Miroku and Sango, even Shippo, who she had practically adopted. Kagome finished after the fire had gone out and Faye and her were snuggling under their blankets as the stars came out.

"What about you?" Kagome said. She felt tired, but it had felt surprisingly good to tell someone the whole story. Faye had listened quietly except for a few questions, and had even helped Kagome clean up the campsite. Now they lay next to each other, the moon lighting up their faces.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, now is time for sleeping." Faye yawned, turning over. "Is your dog going to be a good lookout?" Kagome giggled, harder when she heard a snort of disgust from up in the trees.

"Yes, he sleeps really light."

"Excellent"

A while later, when the girls were breathing regularly and obviously fast asleep, Inuyasha peered at the hanyou suspiciously, trying to understand her. She treated her status lightly, shrugging off the fact that, like him, she was an utter outcast in both demon and human worlds. And as the night had gone on he had realized she was joyful and funny, but he also sensed a kind of ancient wisdom within her. He didn't like it that she was wolf demon, if only half, especially since he could smell a pack of them on the wind. He jumped down lightly and settled on a low branch above Kagome's head.


	2. Tricksy

Author's Note: I know y'all want to know where Faye came from, but I thought of a much funnier chapter! So laugh, snort, and review!

**Chapter 2: Tricksy**

Faye's eyes opened reluctantly as the sun was just peeking over the horizon, lighting up the little campsite with hues of warm oranges and yellows. She yawned, stretched, and tried to get back under the covers of her blanket to hug the fading warmth goodbye. However, her eyes soon flew wide open again, and darted around the clearing in alarm. She soon sat up quickly. It wasn't that she didn't realize where she was. It was only if she had been moved or had fallen asleep unexpectedly that that kind of disorientation ever happened to her.

No what had disturbed Faye was the smell of other wolf demons, a small pack of a few males to be precise, and that alone had sent her blood pumping furiously through her veins. And not only was the nearness of a pack so heavy on the light wind, but the clearly marked boundaries of their territory were (to an experienced nose) everywhere. She had been really, really stupid to not notice them last night, and now she could only hope that Kagome and Inuyasha wouldn't be affected by her carelessness.

"Bloody hell!" was all she said before quickly gathering her things together, wrapping them up carefully, and stowing them back into her leather knapsack. With a crunch and release of her long legs, she jumped up next to Inuyasha in the tree. He was sprawled against the trunk tree, breathing silently, and his claw-like hand was wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Faye made a high-pitched noise in the back of her throat. Inuyasha jolted awake, his dog ears ringing painfully. Faye was glad she didn't have to shake him awake, he would probably have his claws around her throat in a second if she came that close to him.

"What do you want bitch?" Inuyasha grumbled. Faye clenched her fangs angrily, but stillborned her rising anger. It was definitely not the time.

"Can you not smell it?" Faye asked incredulously, "I know your nose is better than mine and you don't have the presence of mind to sniff the air dog?" Inuyasha's nose quivered, smelling the air currents, and his eyes narrowed. He looked incredulously at Faye. "Don't you dare look at me, I didn't invite them, all I know is we're in their territory and all of us will get ripped apart if we're caught here." Faye replied coldly to his stare.

"No we won't" Inuyasha replied confidently, though he did jump down to Kagome to wake her up. He hesitated for a second though and looked up at Faye. "It's just a pack of them, I can handle that, though I'd like to get Kagome out of the way." Faye nodded and observed him closely as he bent over Kagome and gently shook her shoulder. Kagome blearily opened her eyes and smacked Inuyasha across the face with a "hiya!"

"Oh, sorry Inuyasha! Did I hit you?" Kagome wiped away the sleep in her eyes.

"Wench" Inuyahsa grumbled, rubbing the red hand print on his cheek.

"Morning already?" Kagome asked, stretching and getting off her sleeping mat. Faye twitched nervously from the branch, sensing the pack closing the distance.

"Yes, yes, come on Kagome!" Faye reached out a hand to help Kagome climb the tree. "There's a demon pack coming and we should be out of the way. So the amazing Mr. Inuyasha can do his work. Right?" Faye smiled teasingly and winked at Inuyasha, who merely drew his immense sword and glared. Kagome took Faye's hand and let herself be pulled up into the tree. "Us poor females will be out of your way, O Great One!" Faye called down.

"Listen hanyou, if anything happens to Kagome, or if in any way this is a trick." Inuyasha looked up sharply and caught Faye's blue eyes, "I will personally not only tear you limb from limb and scatter your remains to the crows, but I will make sure your eternity is spent in hell, understood?" Faye nodded seriously and followed Kagome up the tree.

"What's the big deal anyway?" Kagome said, pulling Faye from her musings as they waited for the pack to arrive. Faye smiled ruefully.

"As you may have already discovered Kagome, though demons may look or talk like humans, they are not. They have their own code and rules, especially the ones that are animal demons. They have the characteristics and values of their animal counterparts, while maintaining to a general demonic code of honor. In this case, we have wolf demons, and though I myself may be part wolf demon, I never grew up in their environment, never learnt their ways. I had to learn it from a demon expert in a village in the mountains." Faye sighed, scratching her left wolf ear with her long nails.

"Wolfs are extremely territorial, they don't want any other wolfs coming into their areas and using up their resources. Usually, wolfs kill any strays that cross their borders. Same for wolf demons. I'm considered a stray Kagome, but I didn't realize I had crossed into their land until this morning and I apologize. What we're probably dealing with is a border patrol that picked up on my scent last night." Kagome nodded understandingly.

"But why aren't you fighting? You could were able to handle Inuyasha last night, and like you said, it's a small pack." Kagome asked.

"I could fight them, but then the whole pack would descend upon me and I'd never be safe, I'd always be running so that I wouldn't have to pointlessly kill one pack brother after another. From what you told me last night, I have no fear that Inuyasha can handle them, but if I fought them I would be chased down in case I came from another wolf demon pack." Faye sighed and pulled her long sword from its sheath. She laid it carefully across her knees and balanced her body on the branch. She tied a length of leather around her hair, pulling it back into a rough ponytail. Unlike Kagome's, hers wasn't straight and smooth. It sprung against her hands as if it were resisting restraint with a mind of its own. Faye continued,

"The other problem is that I'm female, and though that would save me from having my guts ripped out rapidly, it would condemn me to a mate of their pack if one wanted me, and definitely not of my choice. If I ever tried to run away Kagome, I would be chased down by my mate and killed."

"Are you serious? Just like that?"

"Yes, wolfs mate for life, it is never like other animals who trade mates every spring time. They live and die together, raise pups, and provide for one another. The male wolf will not be allowed back into his clan until he kills his mate or brings her back within a passing of the moon cycle if she runs away."

"Didn't you say you would be killed? You could-"

"No, I wouldn't be brought back." Kagome looked up in surprise at the steeled cool look in Faye's eyes, and looked away. Faye laughed suddenly, relieving the awkward moment. "I'm just glad I'm not in heat!" She laughed.

"Heat?" Kagome said. Faye looked surprised. She expected Kagome to have learned at least a little about demons and human relations. After all, she had been running around in the feudal era for almost two years. It was a puzzle to Faye that she was still so ignorant about the era she spent so much time in.

"Yah, it's like the opposite of your period. It's that two to three day period when you're egg is passing, and supposedly you're really horny." Kagome blushed. "But have you ever heard of when a dog goes into heat?"

Kagome nodded, now that she thought about it, she remembered one of her friends at school complaining they were afraid to leave the house when their dog was in heat because of all the male dogs that would attack the door whenever they opened it, trying to get in. Eventually they had removed their dog's reproductive organs for their own safety. "What's really going on, and this happens in the human body too, is that the female gives off a certain scent that subconsciously triggers a switch in the male's head. When dogs smell it, and they can from miles off, they go nuts and rip through walls to get to the female in heat. For wolfs it's not as bad, and it's a touch better when it comes to wolf demons, but not by much. They get way off their head, but when they realize it's because a female's in heat, they can resist it, like humans do, but it's much, much harder. Wolf demon packs have separate sleeping areas for single males and females, just in case, and when a unmated female goes into heat, she is protected by the mated women until it's over." Kagome digested this information carefully, wondering if this was all part of Kouga's life that he had never shown to her. To be fair, it wasn't as if he'd ever had a chance. Faye turned away, her ears twitching carefully.

"They're almost here." She whispered and swept away a lower branch with her sword so she could see them approach.

Even so, they didn't arrive for another few minutes. Kagome wanted to ask Faye her own story. Especially where she had learned so much about demons, but Faye hushed her and watched the horizon as intently as Inuyasha did below them.

Suddenly there was a series of whoops and howls from the direction that Faye's eyes were watching. Kagome peered between the leaves and saw several familiar wolf demons running towards them, and there was an even more familiar whirlwind of speed just ahead of them. "Oh it's Kouga!" she shouted.

"The one that claimed you as 'his woman' that you were talking about?" Faye asked. She was very relieved that there wouldn't be pointless killing, but a wicked light began to shine in her eyes. "Hey wait Kagome, you can control him right?" She said, stopping Kagome from climbing down immediately as she was doing.

"Well not control, but usually if I ask him to do something he'll make a big show of doing it to impress me."

Faye sighed, "That's control dearest." Kagome shook her head, but Faye countered by holding her chin still. "Let's play a joke on them. It's the least we can do to Inuyasha for being so very rude last night." Kagome smiled and nodded in agreement. She was happy to have to tease Inuyasha with since she was usually too scared to herself. "Just stay here until you decide to relieve him, let me handle it." Faye sheathed her sword and slipped down a branch lower. Kouga and his pack brothers ran up yipping and happy, obviously to see "Sister Kagome". Kouga stopped right in front of Inuyasha, who was merely glaring in disgust at the pack's antics.

"All right mutt, where's my woman? Where's Kagome?" Kouga said. Inuyasha sneered and opened his mouth to reply when Faye leapt down from the tree, screaming in fear. He gripped the Tetsuiga, wondering where Kagome was. Faye rushed up and threw herself at Kouga, still crying. The pack watched with interest, as Kouga managed to hold the girl. He found the girl hanyou's intoxicating scent filling his nose.

"Oh, Oh it was horrible!" Faye cried, and got behind Kouga in an evident attempt to get away from Inuyasha. "I'm so glad you came!" she continued, "That… That monster ate that poor girl!" everyone stiffened as Faye sobbed more, "Oh, that poor thing, she had no idea! He just jumped on her and ripped into her throat, I… I was so scared! I thought he would come for me next, that filthy demon!" Faye collapsed on the ground, sobbing into her hands. Inuyasha froze in confusion and cleared his throat….

"I… I didn't do any such thing! You don't-!" He began

"You bastard mutt! You killed my Kagome! I'll return the favor!" Kouga leapt at Inuyasha, swinging his jewel-empowered fists. Inuyasha barely managed to get his sword up.

"That wench is lying, you flea bitten idiot!" Inuyasha yelled.

"How dare you!" Kouga said, stopping and pointing at Faye, "Try to tell me that girl is lying! I don't see Kagome anywhere, her scent stops here, the very place you're standing! I'll kill you!" He yelled furiously, raising his fist again. The pack behind him were growling and surrounding Faye protectively.

"Oh stop Kouga-san. He didn't eat me." Kagome laughed, her legs swinging from the lowest branch of the tree. Behind them, Faye rolled on the ground in laughter.

"Kagome!" Kouga said with obvious relief. He leapt into the tree and carried her down. Kagome politely pushed out of his hold, but Kouga held onto her hand. "I wouldn't put it past that mutt, he's a barbarian. I really don't feel safe leaving you with him, you know that." Inuyasha growled and snapped Kagome's hand out of Kouga's grip.

"And what do mean by that pup?" He yelled. They did the traditional chest-to-chest, yelling in each other's face, and punching to hurt as much as possible without alarming Kagome. Faye still laughed on her knees where she had collapsed "in terror". Kagome helped her up and together they laughed, leaning on each other for support.

"Oh, my stomach hurts!" Faye lamented, holding it.

"YOU!" both Kouga and Inuyasha yelled, turning on the women. Kouga's companions stopped sniggering behind their hands as well.

"Who me?" Faye asked innocently with big blue eyes.

"How could you trick us like that!" Kouga yelled, still pushing at Inuyasha.

"Well, I must say, it was not only a good chance to throw myself into your handsome arms, but to see the look on the dog's face." Faye winked at Kouga, and with that she and Kagome started laughing again.

"Grr, I'll slice you to pieces for that." Inuyasha said. The women ignored him. Eventually they quieted down and Faye wrapped an arm conspiratorially around Kagome's shoulders and pointed to the two men.

"Well Kagome, who do you think is handsomer? I mean, I thought Inuyasha was pretty cute, especially with those ears, but now we have Kouga, who ain't half bad either. You didn't tell me he was so hott! Shame on you!" Kagome held a hand over her mouth, stifling more giggles. Kouga and Inuyasha were shocked into silence. Kouga's brothers sniggered louder behind them.

"They both have really nice eyes, and great hair. But Kouga's got that more dark thing going on, you know?_ Plus_ he'd got a beautiful tail and is a leader of a wolf clan, but I do like Inuyasha's face, and those ears!"

"Yes, can't go wrong with fuzzy ears!" Kagome retorted, reaching up and flicking one of Faye's.

"That's what I always say! Hmmm, and I suppose they're both really muscular, but I can't tell with Inuyasha's haori. Hey Inuyasha! Take off your shirt and you guys can flex so we can compare!" Faye called. Kouga and Inuyasha tried very hard not to look at each other as the girls walked away, laughing and talking like best friends.

"Shut up!" Kouga yelled at his pack. All but Ginta managed to stop, and he received a swift kick in the shin for not doing so. "Let's hunt down some breakfast and come back. And stop staring at her!" He barked

"We weren't Kouga! The female wolf, not sister Kagome!" Kouga snorted and ran off in his whirlwind of speed, leaving the others to catch up. Kouga ran and ran, following the scent of a few unfortunate rabbits, leaving his brothers behind. And as Kouga hunted he felt his tension slowly release. The wind sang to him longingly in wild abandon and asked him mournfully when would it ever catch him?


End file.
